Early on, the band found minor success in Canada, releasing two albums under the name of 12 Gauge. The first album, Open Season, was a product of winning a local "Battle of the Bands" contest. They then charted two singles on the Canadian country charts and a music video on CMT. By 1999, they changed the name to Emerson Drive, and moved to Nashville, Tennessee to find a major label record deal. Emerson Drive recorded two albums on the DreamWorks Records label, and charted several hits on both the U.S. and Canadian country music charts. After DreamWorks' collapse in 2005, Emerson Drive signed to Midas Records Nashville, where they resumed their streak of hit singles, including their first Number One single in "Moments". In summer 2008, Midas Records closed their country division. Emerson Drive then signed with The Valory Music Co. and the CD which Emerson Drive had been working on, Believe, became a co-partnership with Midas Records, who kept ownership of the CD while The Valory Music Co. was in charge of promotion and distribution of Emerson Drive and Believe.

Emerson Drive was formed under the name of 12 Gauge in February 1995 when Brad Mates entered a talent contest at his local high school in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Through the contest, Mates met fiddler Pat Allingham and keyboardist Chris Hartman. Mates, Hartman, and Allingham decided to form a band with guitarists Dan Binns and David Switzer, bass guitarist Jeff Loberg, and drummer Remi Barre. The band started practicing in Mates' basement and entering singing contests. In 1996, the group entered a local "Battle of the Bands" contest and won the opportunity to write and record an EP titled Open Season.

12 Gauge began work on first studio album, Until You Walk the Tracks, the following year. Throughout 1997 and 1998, the group had been touring around Canada to support their album and charted two songs in Canada, including the top 40 single, "Some Trains Never Come", which peaked at No. 36 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in 1998. Both singles featured music videos that received airplay on CMT Canada. In early 1998, the group received a nomination for Top New Group or Duo at the RPM Big Country Awards, but lost to Montana Sky.

By this time, Switzer had left the group and drummer Remi Barre had been replaced by Derrick Kuzemchuk. Soon after the release, Binns left the group. He was replaced by Dan Bauman, who stayed with the band for just over a year. By the end of 1998, Binns and Kuzemchuk left the group. Shortly after, the band hired Gerry Leiske as their manager, replacing previous manager Lionel Allingham, who was Pat Allingham's father. Leiske introduced the band to guitarist Danick Dupelle, who had been performing with Canadian country trio Farmer's Daughter, whom Leiske also managed. Drummer Mike Melancon was also brought in to replace Kuzemchuk .

As the band had been finding success in Canada, they decided to move to Nashville, Tennessee for an American record deal. When attempting to gain a record contract in Nashville, the group was forced to change their name due to an American rap group already owning the name 12 Gauge. The band settled on Emerson Drive, which was named for the Emerson Trail that crosses Western Alberta and joins the Alaskan Highway.[1]

The group caught the attention of executives at DreamWorks Records, who signed the group to a record deal in 2000. Emerson Drive's debut American single, "I Should Be Sleeping", was released in November 2001. The song went on to become a top five hit for the group on the BillboardHot Country Single & Tracks chart in 2002, peaking at No. 3. "I Should Be Sleeping" also cracked the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 35. Emerson Drive's debut album was originally scheduled to be released in January 2002, but was delayed when DreamWorks executives found two new songs and brought in singer-songwriter Richard Marx to produce.[1] The album was eventually released in May 2002. The album debuted at No. 13 on the BillboardTop Country Albums chart and No. 108 on the Billboard 200. The album's second single, "Fall into Me", one of the two new songs Marx produced, was issued in late 2002 and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Beginning in August 2002, the band went through member changes with departure of bassist Jeff Loberg, who exited the group to focus on his songwriting. Loberg was replaced by Patrick Bourque shortly after. Keyboardist Chris Hartman was replaced by Dale Wallace after he left to return to school in early 2003. By June 2003, Pat Allingham left the group to spend more time with his family and was replaced by David Pichette.

Emerson Drive once again recruited Richard Marx to produce their second album, What If?. The album's first single, "Waitin' on Me", was released to Canada only in late 2003 and followed shortly by "Last One Standing", released in both Canada and the United States, in January 2004. While the band recorded their second album, they opened most North American shows on Shania Twain's Up! Tour. The tour began on September 25, 2003 and ended on July 10, 2004. The group's second album was released in June 2004 and debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Despite having success in Canada, the band was struggling in the United States and were dropped from DreamWorks in late 2004. Universal Music Group closed the struggling DreamWorks Nashville the following year. The group was able to release two more singles from What If? in Canada through Universal Music Canada in 2005.

In late 2005, Keith Follesé and Brad Allen were launching a new record label, Midas Records Nashville, when they heard Emerson Drive. Follesé and Allen quickly signed the band to the label and began working on Emerson Drive's third album. Country band Alabama's Teddy Gentry and veteran Nashville musician and songwriter Josh Leo were brought in to produce the band's fifth album, Countrified, which was released in September 2006, debuting at No. 30 on the Billboard Top Country Songs chart.

The album's first single, "A Good Man," reached No. 17 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in late 2006 and was followed by "Moments", which gave the group their first number one single. Emerson Drive became the first Canadian based group to reach number one and the fifth Canadian act overall. "Moments" was followed in Canada by the top five hit "Testify" and in the United States by the top 25 hit "You Still Own Me", a cover the 2004 Johnny Reid single.

Patrick Bourque, formerly the band's bass guitarist, resigned from the band in August 2007 for an unknown reason. On September 26, of that same year, he was found dead in his Montreal, Quebec home. At the time, the cause of death was not released by police and was eventually determined to be a suicide. The members of Emerson Drive learned of his death while traveling to a concert in Valentine, Nebraska. In November, the band talked with CBC News saying they had known that Bourque had been unhappy, but "nobody could do anything for him".[2] The band recovered from Bourque's death and began recording their sixth album in 2008, with Arlo Gilliam as touring bassist.[3]

In November 2008, the band released their first new single, "Belongs to You", on Midas and new label Valory Music Group, which began to promote the band in mid-2008. The song peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in March 2009 and the new album, Believe, was delayed. The album eventually came out in May 2009 in Canada only. Due to a dispute with the band's record label, Midas Records, the album was not released in the United States at the time.[4] Despite this, the group has achieved three more top ten hits in Canada with "Believe," "I Love This Road," and "The Extra Mile." The band left Valory Music Group and Midas in 2009.[5] The first single, "That Kind of Beautiful", was released in Canada in June 2010 and was released in the United States in August.[5] During this time, the band signed with Open Road Recordings which will release and promote the band's music in Canada.

Open Road Recordings released the band's first greatest hits album, Decade of Drive, on February 8, 2011 in Canada.[6] The album's first single, "When I See You Again", was released in November 2010.[6] The song was written as a tribute to deceased member Patrick Bourque.[6] The album will feature the band's biggest hits and new previously unreleased songs.[6] A deluxe edition with acoustic recordings and another unreleased track is also expected to be released at a later date.[6] During January 2011, Emerson Drive signed with Quarterback Records to release their next American single, "Let Your Love Speak", to U.S. radio on February 28, 2011.[7] The band began the Decade and Driving Tour on February 8, 2011 in Canada with stops in several cities and towns across Canada.[7] The United States leg of the tour will begin in Evansville, Indiana on April 8.[8] The album's third single "Sleep It Off" released to Canadian country radio in August 1, 2011.

Emerson Drive's seventh studio album, Roll, was released on October 30, 2012.[9] The album's first single, "She's My Kind of Crazy," released to Canadian country radio on July 9, 2012. The album's second single, "Let It Roll" (with Doc Walker) released to Canadian country radio on October 23, 2012. The album's third single, "With You" released to Canadian country radio in March 2013. The album's fourth single, "She Always Get What She Wants" released to Canadian country radio in June 2013.

In May 2013, David Pichette announced he would depart the band to focus on his family.[10] Pichette plans to stay active behind the scenes with the band but will no longer tour.[10]